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Summer Love Salad Recipe

SUMMER LOVING HAD ME A BLAST

The end of summer is such a bittersweet time for me. I love the relaxed mindset of largely unscheduled days, but I also love the excitement and feeling of promise and new beginnings that come every September. I love the heat and sunshine of summer, but I also like thick sweaters and tall boots. The leaves are starting to change on the trees in my front yard; the air is crisp and cool in the mornings and evenings. Fall is right around the corner and so I am desperately hanging on to the last vestiges of summer. I do love soups and roasted squash and root vegetables that go hand in hand with autumn, but I'm not ready to let go of the tastes of summer.

Along with fifteen pounds of tomatoes, my mother-in-law also gave me several lovely zucchinis from her garden. Zucchinis and tomatoes make the perfect late-summer combination, I think. I created this salad to take advantage of those flavours, which go nicely with a simple balsamic reduction. It's a celebration of summer, on a plate.

Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

3-4 medium tomatoes

1 avocado

1 zucchini

1/4 cup goat or cashew cheese

basil leaves for garnish

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, approximately ten minutes. Vinegar should be thickened and syrupy in appearance. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Slice tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices, arrange on a plate.

Using a vegetable peeler, cut zucchini into ribbons, turning zucchini as you cut, discarding the seedy centre. Arrange over top tomatoes.

Nicole loves food! She loves cooking, baking, grocery shopping, and just wearing her apron that sports a cupcake motif. For the most part she avoids processed and packaged foods and loves to create recipes based on her craving-of-the-day. Nicole is a longtime vegetarian (sometimes vegan) who lives in Calgary with her husband, two sons, and a male dog. Her testosterone-infused house is one full of meat-lovers, and she ties on that cupcake apron to incorporate her family’s love of meat into her own meatless meals. Vegetarian and vegan meals can be simple and delicious — and can easily be adapted for those who are on Team Carnivore.

Join Nicole as she divulges tips and tricks for creating meals, snacks, and desserts that appeal to the whole family, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.